Prospects ‘not good’ as Ecclestone trial begins

It could be the final lap in a long and lucrative career for the 83-year-old Briton, as two courts have already found that he did indeed bribe the already-jailed former F1 banker Gerhard Gribkowsky.

The criminal trial in Germany could see Ecclestone also out of a job and in jail.

In the indictment papers, he is accused of paying $44 million to “win over” Gribkowsky, who has already been convicted in the same jurisdiction for receiving the bribes.

According to F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, quoting from the indictment, Ecclestone offered Gribkowsky “personal gain” in exchange for dispensing “with BayernLB as a formula one shareholder as quickly as possible.”

Writing in the Guardian, Sylt said Ecclestone is not commenting this week.